Smokers in Indiana will have to pay a little more for cigarettes starting this week. A new 44-cent tax hike on a pack of cigarettes went into effect Sunday. Chicago Public Radio’s Mike Rhee has more.
**
The tax increase nearly doubles Indiana’s previous tax, putting it at just under a dollar per pack. Still, taxes overall in the Chicago-region are much higher than Indiana’s. Chicago smokers pay more than four-dollars a pack in taxes alone.
Smoke shops in Indiana just across the border from Illinois are bracing for a decrease in business due to the tax hike. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed the legislation in hopes of decreasing the number of smokers in the state. The new tax is expected to generate about 200-million dollars a year. Some of the money will go towards anti-smoking initiatives in Indiana as well as health insurance programs and immunizations for kids.